Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #3 Review

Dead To Rights

Written By: Mike Johnson
Art By: Angel Hernandez, Alejandro Sanchez and Neil Uyetake
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 9, 2015

This is a book that is an odd choice for me to review...I am not the biggest Green Lantern fan amongst the Weird Science Get Fresh Crew and am way more of a Star Wars guy than a Star Trek nerd.  However, sometime when the bell sounds, somebody has to answer it and that someone is me.  I am actually the third person on the site to review this crossover, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's not any good.  Circumstances beyond our control kept this series from getting the attention and review completion it deserved and that's where I come in to save the day.  Yes, I will from this day forth be known as the Star Trek/Green Lantern Guy and I shall wear that moniker with pride and dignity.  So, who's the biggest nerd now, bitches?  On to the review...




Note: Since this book came out a long time ago, in a Galaxy...sorry about that, here are links to Dan's and Eric's Reviews of the first two issues:

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #1 Review

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #2 Review 

The cover of this series proudly states that it is "The Crossover Event of 2015" and while I can't say that ended up being the case (even if hindsight is 20/20), I am enjoying the hell out of it.  The first two issues were so much fun in a "who's going to get the rings and what are they going to do with them" sort of way and the characters that have been showing up are awesome.  However, Mike Johnson can't just live off shock and awe alone and thankfully in this issue, he hunkers down and gives us some solid background which in turn sets up the main narrative going forward.  It's all about Ganthet, the Last Light and Nekron.

While Capt. Kirk and Hal Jordan stand over the dead body of the Guardian, Hal tells of the last days of his Universe.  The Lanterns had all gathered in a last stand against Nekron, but the sheer numbers that the Black Lantern commanded were too much and as they prepared for their inevitable deaths, everything went bright and Hal found himself in our Universe.  Of course, we know that he's not the only one who crossed over and then there's the matter of the rings, which leads us to...

Glocon of Gornar is using his Red Lantern ring to pretty much rip apart his father and the Glocon government.  His plan is to take control of his planet and then the Universe, but before he gets too far, he has to deal with Atrocitus, who obviously punched his ticket on the Last Light express.  It shouldn't surprise anyone since we saw Sinestro at the end of last issue, but that doesn't make it any less cool.  After tossing Glocon around a bit, the scene ends with his advisor, Garron, offering Atrocitus a deal.

We have to wait a see what that is because we are off to Romulus to catch up with the new Orange Lantern, Decius.  Of course, all he wants is his planet for himself and goes to extreme measures to assure just that.  Of all the new Lanterns so far, I think that Mike Johnson nails the Orange the best as Decius creates a new Romulan Senate in his own image.  Because of what has happened each time we spend time with these Lanterns, I couldn't wait for the inevitable and then BAM!  Larfleeze!  It's funny, of all the big shot Lanterns we've seen, he really comes off as the nicest...but we all know better, right?

Next up is Sinestro, who is just so badass it isn't even funny.  Actually, it's hilarious seeing him toy with Chang until he's had enough and blasts him into a wall.  That's when Chang says the magic word that piques Sinestro's interest and just may have saved the Klingon's life.  The word of the day is "order" and you know how much Sinestro loves that word, right children?

Mike Johnson just nails Sinestro here.  While the other big bad Lanterns are acting out with their base emotions, Sinestro is already planning and scheming (and maybe even rhymin' and a stealin') and Johnson writes him as the smartest guy in the room who is already one step ahead of everyone else...because he is.

Back to the Enterprise, Chekov is having fun with his ring while Kirk and Hal have a little disagreement with rank and orders and even though Hal pulling the "Captain" card felt odd to me, it was all over quick enough and leads to two very special guest stars showing up...Carol Ferris and Saint Walker.  Saint Walker is worse for wear (isn't he always lately?) and while he's being cared for, we see another Federation Starship take the brunt of the Red Lanterns, but that's nothing compared to the bomb that Carol drops about who made it through to this Universe.  Then as an exclamation point, Mike Johnson shows us what it all is going to mean in the second half of this crossover.  It's awesome and very, very personal for a certain member of the Enterprise.

I'm fully into this series and that's saying something after explaining my fandom to you in my introduction.  Mike Johnson is a big Star Trek writer, but his Lantern work in this series is what's making it shine.  He also knows what makes a great crossover...lots and lots of cool characters from each property and we are getting that in spades.  

Angel Hernandez is also killing it on art.  His lanterns are spot on and while I wish it was the classic crew (Shatner, Nimoy...), his Pine, Pinto and crew are really good.  Believe me, I've seen some failed attempts at "real life" characters, but thankfully, this isn't among them.

Bits and Pieces:

Mike Johnson and Angel Hernandez continue setting this crossover up with great character work and art that should thrill fans of either franchise.  The slow burn story is building and the issue ends with something that will surely pick up the pace immediately.  The gang's all here, but are they going to be able to come together before another Universe is destroyed? That's the rub of the series and something I can't wait to see play out over the next three issues.

9.0/10